An apparatus and method is shown for modifying the creation and/or presentation of image information displayed, printed or created on a raster or matrix image or graphic display or printer, thereby increasing the apparent image quality. Means for deriving a plurality of neighboring image elements or elements of the video signal which neighbor in time or space to a common location, and means for determining the image elements replication at such location in response thereto, are also shown. Particular embodiments relation to increasing the apparent temporal and spatial resolution of raster scanned television computer and permanent copy devices are shown.
This invention relates to increasing the apparent temporal or spatial resolution of a created and/or displayed image which is typically produced by ordered groups of elements such as by a raster or matrix element or device, without a required increase in the number of image elements of the image.
As television, computer, graphics, printers, fax machines and related image technology develop, there is increasing emphasis on improving the quality of created, displayed, or stored images in order that they appear more real and pleasing to the human observer. Two of the parameters which affect image quality, and therefore are subject to improvement, are spatial and temporal resolution. Spatial resolution, simply put, is the number of image elements which are used to make up an image, normally static, and correspondingly, temporal resolution is the number of elements per unit time which make up an image, normally moving. Desirable qualities of an image system, such as television camera, scanner, broadcast television, computer display printer, permanent copy device, etc. will ideally include having as many elements per image or frame and, in the case of moving images, as many elements or frames per unit time as is economically feasible. Unfortunately, increasing the number of image elements per frame or the number of frames per second is a costly improvement. Therefore many schemes have been developed to improve the resolution of the image, while reducing the number of elements used.
Other improvement systems, such as various Scanner Interpolation Techniques, improved Definition Television Systems (IDTV), Advanced Television Systems (ATV), and High Definition Television Systems (HDTV), Hewlett Packard""s Laser Printer Resolution Enhancement System, and other Image Enhancers typically operate to increase the resolution and other quality related aspects of image systems. Many of these systems resort to various techniques for such quality improvements, some of which generate unwanted artifacts.
It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method for improving the apparent quality of a created and/or displayed image by altering the size, shape or position of the elements of the image.
It is an object of this invention to allow usage of a low resolution camera and/or recorder in a high resolution video distribution and/or display system.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method to alter the size, shape or position of the elements of a scanned or presented image in response to the relationship between a plurality of elements of the image.
It is a yet further object of this invention to provide a means and method for inspecting a plurality of elements of an image to determine the presence of a need for filling of areas between the elements.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a means and method for simultaneously providing a plurality of elements of said image for inspection and comparison means to determine proper altering of areas between the elements or voids created by defective or unneeded elements.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a means and method for inspecting a certain element or location with respect to one or more surrounding or neighboring elements of an image to determine the desirability for changing the shape, position or size of other elements to improve the spatial and/or temporal resolution relationship between the elements, which may neighbor in time or space.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a means and method for inspecting neighboring elements with respect to one or more other elements of an image to determine a need for changing the shape, position or size of elements to improve the spatial or temporal resolution relationship with the other elements, especially when one other element is defective.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide a means and method to improve the quality of an image by inspecting a plurality of neighboring elements to generate replication elements in response thereto.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a means for replicating non-defective image elements while producing no ascertainable artifacts.
It is still yet another object of the invention to apply the above objects to any physical phenomena or signal which can be represented as a matrix of discrete elements.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an image creation device utilizing the above objects.
According to an aspect of this invention, the inventive concepts disclosed herein show an apparatus and method for modifying the creation, storage and/or production of an image by device in response to the image content thereof as carried by an image bearing signal, in order to create an image having apparently higher quality than normal.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention describes a neighboring element means for providing a plurality of neighboring elements, and an element replication means responsive to said plurality of neighboring elements to selectively fill a location, which may be a void, or artifacts, between elements, or to replace elements in the spatial or time dimensions or both. The inventive concepts disclosed herein may be utilized to improve the apparent resolution of the created and/or displayed image spatially, temporally, or both, or to conceal, by replication including modification, and/or creation of otherwise non-existant, defective or unneeded image elements or artifacts. The invention will find considerable use in the reduction of spatial or temporal (motion) artifacts of improved television systems like HDTV.
It will be understood that the term image as used herein is meant to apply to the creation and/or presentation of any phenomena by a raster or matrix of discrete or adjoining elements, and that the raster or matrix may be either a single one, or a given one of a plurality or sequence of rasters or matrices, for example as used in temporal portraits of such physical phenomena. The image can be visable on a display (such as a computer monitor or regular television set), viewable after creation (such as a laser printer or fax machine) or otherwise exist (such as in memory for subsequent (use or on a recorder tape). The term image is applicable to the creation of an image (for example at a low resolution to camera); on recording (for example on a VHS machine for HDTV transmission), on receipt (for example NTSC reception on an HDTV monitor) or otherwise.
It will be further understood that invention has application to a group, or series of such elements, whether transmitted or stored, in time sequential or parallel arrangement or in any other form. The more important aspect of the invention is the operations on the elements which have some spatial or temporal coherence or probability of similarity. It is of lesser importance what the elements represent or how the elements are conveyed, or of the particular nature or make up of the form of the elements.
It will be also understood that although the word void is used in this specification, the invention is directed towards replicating new image information utilizing neighboring image elements, which new image information is utilized at a certain location(s). These locations might or might not have previously had image information available therefor. The void may exist at the point of image creation, before/after storage and/or at the point of presentation. Examples of voids would include such things as defects, unwanted elements, improper elements, corrupted elements, valid but replacable elements, locations with no image information, and/or other locations or elements which may be in question or need for improvement. The term void is used to cover all these and similar situations for uniformity.
It will also be understood that although the word combination xe2x80x9cfilling inxe2x80x9d is used in the specification and claims, the invention is directed towards replicating an image element at a particular locationxe2x80x94again, an image element which might or might not have previously had information available therefor. This replication includes creating, modifying, replacing, substituting, adding to, providing and/or filling in for the element at this location. This term filling in is used to cover all these and similar situations for uniformity.
It will also be understood that although the word xe2x80x9csimilarityxe2x80x9d is used in the specification, the invention is directed towards the use of any of the various element characteristics to determine similarity, which characteristics can be used alone or in combination thereof. For example, the elements both may be of the same color, but of different brightness; they both may be of samebrightness, but of different hue; they both may be of the same luminance but of different color saturation; they both may be of same saturation and luminance; they both may be the same size; they both may have the same relationship to their surroundings; or otherwise be similar in some one or combination of characteristics. Characteristics by which similarity can be determined include color, hue, color saturation, luminance (brightness), size, detail pattern, spatial frequency component in horizontal or vertical or diagonal or time or other dimensions, temporal frequency, content, relationship of neighboring elements, noise, and/or other external measures such can be derived from a detection circuit which would provide a flag or measure and/or other indication that an element or group of elements are suitable for processing. The element or location which is being processed may or may not be a valid or erroneous element: It might even have had no image information or not previously existed.
It will also be understood that although the word xe2x80x9creplicationxe2x80x9d is used in the specification, the invention is directed towards modifying, correcting, improving, substituting for, adding to, replacing or otherwise processing the image so as to provide for an overall, more pleasing or apparently higher quality image. As previously set forth the word xe2x80x9cfill inxe2x80x9d is used in this specification for similar attributes as replication.
It should be understoood that the word xe2x80x9csurroundingxe2x80x9d is used in this specification to describe elements which have some relationship to other image elements, be the relationship spatial or temporal. The word surrounding could include elements which are neighboring on one side thereof, neighboring on all sides, adjacent thereto, spaced from diagonally with intervening elements between (such as in a interlaced field scan device wherein alternating fields are paired), immediately adjacent or spaced elements which have a statistical ability of being similar, or merely elements that have a greater than minimal statistical probability of being similar. However, in respect to this latter it is preferred that the percentage of similarity, is over 50%.
It should be understood that the invention has application during the creation of an image (for example at a video camera), at the storage of an image (for example before or after a video tape or disk) and/or in the production of an image (for example a video monitor).
The ojects and features of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from a consideration of the following description and claims, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: